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Friday, 31 October 2014

Mrs Ogbedo, 45, of Finchley, who went through a lavish wedding to Nigerian shipping magnate Moses Taiga in 2002 and has two children by him, says it was only later that she discovered her husband already had a wife from Benin.

For more than a 10 years she has petitioned UK divorce courts for financial support from Moses Taiga. But instead, a judge ruled that, despite her being “of limited means”, she would not be awarded any maintenance from Mr Taiga and she was ordered to pay an estimated £100,000 towards his legal bills.

Challenging that court ruling, her barrister Timothy Scott, QC, said the lavish 2002 ceremony “duped” her into thinking she was a lawfully wedded wife. He said that soon after her wedding she found that in 1974 Mr Taiga wed at an Anglican church in neighbouring Benin. “She ought to be permitted to apply for financial relief in Eng- land by virtue of that ceremony,” he said.

Mr Scott added that although more than one wife is permitted in Nigeria, Mr Taiga’s 1974 church wedding invalidated the 2002 marriage. However, a Nigerian court found the 2002 ceremony was not just invalid but a “non-marriage”.
The Appeal Court refused to overturn the judgment but she was granted permission to appeal against the legal costs bill.
Mr Taiga has ended his 1974 marriage and has wedded a third woman, Yinka with whom he has quadruplets.